What does carburetter mean?
A carburetter is an engine component that mixes air and fuel in the proportions needed for combustion. In older petrol engines, it was central to controlling the engine's performance, and problems such as blockage, poor adjustment, or a faulty float could cause difficult starting, uneven running, or a sudden loss of power. The word is especially associated with British English, while American English more often uses the spelling "carburetor." Although many vehicles once relied on carburetters, electronic fuel-injection systems largely replaced them in later production vehicles. The term remains common among mechanics, restorers, and collectors dealing with classic cars and motorcycles. It also has a distinctly mechanical, historical character, recalling an era when essential engine functions were handled by relatively simple physical devices rather than electronic controls.
nounA carburetter is a device in an internal-combustion engine that mixes air with fuel in the correct proportions before delivering the mixture to the engine. It was especially common in older petrol engines, many of which used carburettion rather than electronic fuel injection.
- A mechanical device that mixes air and petrol vapour or fuel vapour in the correct proportions for combustion in an internal-combustion engine.
"The mechanic cleaned the carburetter and adjusted its settings before the car would start reliably."
"Cold weather can cause an old carburetter to become difficult to operate."
"The vintage motorcycle's carburetter was rebuilt by a specialist mechanic."
The standard plural of the noun.
"The garage specializes in restoring carburetters for classic motorcycles."
Before fuel injection, the carburetter was the small mechanical brain deciding exactly how much fuel an engine should receive.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of carburetter
The word comes through French, where carburateur names the device that prepares a mixture of air and fuel. Its deeper root is Latin carbo, meaning "coal" or "charcoal," the source of the modern family of words including carbon, carbonate, and carbohydrate. English adopted the term in the nineteenth century for the engine mechanism, with the spelling "carburettor" later becoming especially established in British usage.
Related word forms
How carburetter is actually used
Chiefly British spelling, though the word is also understood in American English. It is a technical and largely historical term: carburetters were standard in many petrol engines before electronic fuel injection became widespread.
Easily confused with carburetter
Carburetor is the chiefly American spelling, while carburetter is the more common British spelling of the same engine device.
Carbon is a chemical element, whereas a carburetter is the engine component that mixes air and fuel.